Cake and Taxes: A Yellow Rose Cozy Mystery (Yellow Rose Mystery Series Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

eased across the parking lot where he was taping up another sign. Shortly after he saw her pulling up, he froze, then dusted off his hands and walked hurriedly toward his car.
     
    Forget it, Ned, I see you.
     
    Without letting go of the wheel, Betty swerved behind the bumper of his car. Ned turned, exhaling hard. Betty walked toward his window and tapped lightly on the glass. She backed up a step as Ned exited his vehicle.
     
    Betty smiled. “Could have simply said ‘hi’. What’s with the meeting at your store tonight?”
     
    Ned scowled. “Look, you’re not a cop. And I’m not committing a crime. You wanna get out of my way?” Before Betty could answer, he got in his car and jammed the key into the ignition.
     
    Betty kept the focus on him, looking at him through the driver's side window. Ned shook his head, glaring at Betty from his seat. He started his car and drove off, leaving Betty wondering what was going on and thinking she might need to work on her people skills.
     
    *  *  *
     
    That evening, Betty had gone online and found a blog dedicated to people who wanted to discuss the way Texas taxed its business owners. She found out that Ned had put out the word days before Marge's death about the meeting being held tonight. Her curiosity got the best of her. She drove over to the hardware store, parked, then quietly walked in and slipped into the back row several minutes after everything had gotten underway.
     
    There were about thirty people in attendance. Ned had cleared out some space near the right side of his store and set up folding chairs for the attendees. Ned stated that the business owners needed to get organized and together protest to get things changed in the county. During the course of the time that Betty was there, various people got up and spoke. Most contributed intelligently to the conversation, which ran high with emotion at times. One man, though, was cut short when he began rambling on about personal problems he felt were tied to his struggling business and began making derogatory remarks about several of the appraisal district employees.
     
    When Betty felt she'd heard enough she eased up out of her seat, exited the storefront, and headed home.
     
    *  *  *
     
    An hour later, Betty finished up with the dishes in the kitchen, then stepped outside for her evening ruminations, a half glass of wine in hand. Darkness crept into the neighborhood as she settled into one of the deck chairs. A light breeze blew through and took the edge off the humidity that clung to her with the stubbornness of a bad habit. She sat as still as she could, waiting for inner quiet to overtake her while fearing a thing she could not name.
     
    With the exception of current events in the past few days, her life was on an uptick. Steady customers at the store. Bills current. Plus, her daughters and son-in-law were all in good health and doing relatively well. If only she could reduce the melodrama that had come with Marge's death. Maybe that should be her web site tag – Betty Hitchens. Drama Junkie . She doubted any other local business owners had laid claim to the title. Or would want to for that matter.
     
    She once heard that contentment rests not in having more fuel, but in taking away some of the fire. Yet her rebellious side screamed no, that it was better to burn out than fade away. One thing she knew for sure was that life was full of contradictions. Another thing she knew with equal certainty was that it was growing late and she was unlikely to find definitive answers in the emptiness of a wine glass. Taking one last sip, she walked inside, watched the last half of a murder mystery on Netflix, then crawled into bed next to her cat, Zorro,and fell into a deep sleep.
     
     

Chapter 11
     
    Ojudh raised his arms above his head to get some circulation coursing through his body. Restless nights of sitting made him a little stir crazy. He almost started laughing, realizing how stupid he was. Sarah was